Key Note Gaming

There’s no question that one of the biggest talking points during last week’s Gamescom Asia x Thailand Game Show came out of Dead Space creator Glen Schofield’s opening keynote address, regarding his plans to “fix” the industry in part via the use of generative AI in games development . In addition to speaking with Schofield , IGN managed to get some time with another industry veteran, Meghan Morgan Juinio, to ask for her thoughts on the controversial practice that has previously been met with anger from Call of Duty fans , but also major support from games industry executives like EA CEO Andrew Wilson . “I think if we don’t embrace it, I think we’re selling ourselves short,” said Juinio, who recently vacated her role as director of product development at Santa Monica Studio after 10 years and two hugely successful God of War games. “AI is a tool, and something that will augment us. At least for right now, that’s how I see it. It’s going to evolve whether you’re onboard with it or n...

The Arc Raiders design director has said it's been fortuitous timing to have its extraction shooter launch a playtest around the same time as Bungie's Marathon , calling it "a great A/B test for us." With Marathon offering some features that Arc Raiders does not — and vice-versa — Embark Studios' Virgil Watkins said it's been useful to compare the feedback from not just Arc Raiders' community but also Marathon's to "compare and contrast how some of those things shook out." Talking to PC Gamer , Watkins said: "It was very coincidental that they had their test around the time we did. To my knowledge, I don't think any of us knew that was going to happen. It was a very great A/B test for us, because obviously, they made decisions that we didn't, and vice versa. So we could kind of compare and contrast how some of those things shook out. "[It] was quite interesting to follow what players thought about those certain things,...

Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto has expressed his disappointment that former staff of the now shuttered Ridgeline Games were not "properly" credited in Battlefield 6 , despite building the "foundation" of the game. Ridgeline Games, the studio co-founded by Lehto, was tasked with developing the narrative campaign in Battlefield 6. The studio was closed in February 2024 following Lehto’s departure — less than two years after it was set up — as part of a broader restructuring that saw EA lay off some 670 employees and shift away from future licensed IPs . At the time, EA said the work that was begun on the Battlefield single-player campaign would continue. Fast forward to Battlefield 6’s record-breaking release, and Lehto has taken to LinkedIn to recognize the work done by his former staff at Ridgeline on the game. “I’m disappointed to see that many of my former teammates from Ridgeline Games were not properly credited in the recent release of Battlefield 6,” he s...

Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto has opened up on why Konami revealed three new Silent Hill games after a full decade of silence, saying the publisher was keen to stress to old fans and new that it was "serious" about resurrecting the flailing horror series. Reflecting on how the series has performed since Konami's inaugural Silent Hill Transmission back in October 2022 , Okamoto explained how the impressive Silent Hill 2 Remake was designed with "half new, half old customers in mind" to ensure it could attract new fans to the franchise. "Three years ago, in 2022, we announced three titles: Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill f, and Silent Hill: Townfall," Okamoto explained on Twitter / X , as transcribed by Automaton . "We didn’t want to just announce a single remake to 'test the waters.' "We wanted people to feel how serious we were about reviving the series. Developing a remake and a new title simultaneously naturally invol...

In so many ways, Ninja Gaiden 4 is exactly what I wanted it to be. It’s a collaborative effort between Team Ninja and Platinum Games, two of my all time favorite developers; it builds off the combat from Ninja Gaiden 2 , which has the best action of the series in my eyes; and it comes packed with small touches that make it a bit more approachable without sacrificing the tough-as-nails difficulty that longtime fans like me expect. But while I’d even go so far as to say this combat system is among the very best I’ve ever seen, Ninja Gaiden 4 stumbles in many other areas – from its bland new lead character, to its uninspired level design, to its predictable story that falls completely flat. The action is still so good that a lot of those shortcomings get deflected like bullets against Ryu Hayabusa’s sword, but others slip through that defense and wound what is otherwise an incredible revival for the Master Ninja. Story has never been a selling point of the Ninja Gaiden series, so it di...

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 co-director Naoki Hamaguchi has assured fans that the team working on the highly anticipated final instalment is "striking a balance" between keeping the story moving and tightening the pacing. Talking to ScreenRant , the director reflected on criticism of the series's pacing and lengthy instalments. Asked if he agreed with the feedback that "certain sections" in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth felt a little long, he disagreed, saying: "Regarding time management in certain sections, especially in FF7 Rebirth, I honestly don’t believe that they were longer than necessary. I feel like nowadays, players just have too much to do and too much to play; so they often feel the urge that something has to be concluded quickly." That said, Hamaguchi is at least mindful of the criticism, adding: "As we work on the conclusion to the trilogy, we are striking a balance on how story arcs are told and spread out so as to ensure that the...

Lana Del Rey looks to have gotten a second chance at recording a James Bond theme, this time for the upcoming video game 007 First Light . Eagle-eyed fans on reddit have spotted a fresh song titled "First Light" that has been registered by Del Rey, real name Elizabeth Grant, to the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). While not a full confirmation, Del Rey performing the game's theme would be a neat fit, after the singer's 2005 track "24" was snubbed for Daniel Craig outing Spectre, the franchise's 24th movie. IGN has contacted IO Interactive for more. Last year, Del Rey revealed she had written that track as a Bond theme, only for Sam Smith's "Writing's On the Wall" to ultimately get picked instead. "I wrote that for them," Del Rey told BBC News previously. "Sam, you did a wonderful job. One day, maybe... But I'm going to continue to do my little Nancy Sinatra thing every now and t...

Arc Raiders has ended its 'Server Slam' playtest with a big peak concurrent player number on Steam, suggesting a strong launch is ahead. The open Server Slam ran over the weekend on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. It offered the final chance to play Embark Studios' extraction shooter ahead of its October 30 release date. On Steam, Arc Raiders hit a peak concurrent player count of 189,668, making it one of the most-played games on Valve’s platform over the weekend. That's enough to make Arc Raiders the biggest extraction shooter ever on Steam. Escape from Tarkov might have something to say about that when it finally launches on Steam in November, however. Arc Raiders' true peak concurrent player number across all platforms will be higher than the Steam figure, but neither Epic, Sony, nor Microsoft make their numbers public. Still, 190,000 on Steam for an open beta is very strong. Not Battlefield 6 strong — its open b...

Ever since Resident Evil exploded onto the scene in 1996 and made inventory reshuffling in the face of a zombie outbreak popular, players have been regularly fighting down to their very last bullet. 30 years later, survival horror is the dominant format for those seeking video game scares, as popular now as it’s ever been. And with a fresh batch of nightmares to consider, there’s never been a better time to rank the best games of the genre. But what qualifies a game to be considered as "survival horror"? Many games are often labelled survival horror, but lean much too heavily into action to be truly considered a genuine example of the genre. For our money, survival horror can be boiled down to four key factors, all of which are vital components of the classics that make up our list. There has to be a power dynamic weighted in the enemy's favour. You need to explore maze-like environments while solving puzzles. There’s often jeopardous resource management. Relentle...

I first read The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson back in the mid-2010s, and ever since I have theorycrafted how I would play a Knight Radiant in my TTRPG campaigns. Conceptualizing how shardblades would function or how best to make a spren that wasn’t just a reskinned familiar. Thankfully, I can put that tiring task behind me thanks to the release of the official Cosmere RPG, which, after a VERY successful crowdfunding campaign , has been released. At long last, I can role-play my Windrunner character with my spren partner, Malbifina (Mal for short), and stand against the Desolation. Developed by Brotherwise Games in close collaboration with Brandon Sanderson himself, the initial offerings for the Cosmere RPG focus solely on Roshar and the systems of the Stormlight Archive books, with three offerings: The Stormlight Handbook (the Player’s Handbook), The Stormlight World Guide (the Dungeon Master’s Guide), and Stonewalkers (a standalone campaign you can play through). For those...

While attending Gamescom Asia x Thailand Game Show in Bangkok this week, IGN was given the opportunity to sit down with Rainbow Six Siege X’s creative director Alexander Karpazis to talk about how much the tactical live-service shooter has evolved in the ten years since its launch in 2015, where it might go next, the possibility of a campaign mode and Switch 2 port, the use of generative AI in development, and more. Read on for our full chat below! IGN: 10 years is a great achievement for a live service game, particularly since we’ve seen so many others come and go in that time. What do you put the longevity of Siege down to? Alexander Karpazis [AK]: I think one of the big points is just the sheer depth of the game. Like even within 10 years, I don't think you'll be able to master a game like Siege and as a gamer that's incredibly rewarding. It means that you're on a journey to learn, master and discover new things with a game that's always changing. And I thi...

Lost Origins saw reprints earlier this year, but now that they've dried up, we're seeing the usual climbs in this Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield expansion. What I didn't expect was to see so many Trainer Gallery cards drop in value, but I think this is more of a market correction. It was only at the beginning of the year that Gengar and Pikachu were in the pocket money binder at your local TCG and collectables stores, but those days are still a distant memory. Crashers and Climbers: Lost Origin With Pokémon Mania 2025 still going crazy, everyone is trying to grab new release sealed product at retail, which means it's a great time to snag some overlooked cards from older sets before they climb up. For example, I got most of the cards in today's crasher section for around $5 each 12 months ago, so although they're currently lowering in price, they're still a great buy. Let's get straight into it. Pokémon Card Crashers Gengar TG06/TG30 is a bit o...